Harley-Davidson released today its fourth quarter financial statements, revealing the company’s fourth-quarter income from continuing operations was $70.6 million on consolidated revenue of $1.17 billion, compared to 2011 income from continuing operations of $54.6 million on consolidated revenue of $1.18 billion. Fourth-quarter 2012 earnings per share were $0.31, up 29.2% compared to EPS of $0.24 in the year-ago quarter. Continue Reading »
If this shop was in Indiana and you wanted to purchase a Duc on Sunday, you’d have to wait ’til Monday. But a change in Indiana state law may soon allow sales of motorcycles on Sundays.
File this one under odd things most people didn’t know about motorcycling. It’s not uncommon to hear that some states or various counties within a state have certain restrictions, or prohibit altogether, the sale of alcohol on Sundays. However, Indiana has a law on the books (an old “blue law”) that prohibits the sale of motor vehicles on Sundays. A person selling on Sundays is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. But with respect to bike sales the law will likely change soon.
The U.S. motorcycle industry saw a 4.6% decrease in year-on-year sales over the first six months of 2011, thanks mostly to a 17.3% drop in ATV sales. Motorcycle and scooter sales however saw a 1.7% bump in the first half .
Unfortunately, most of that gain in two-wheeled vehicle sales was due to a strong first quarter that saw a year-on-year increase of 7.2%. Second quarter motorcycle and scooter sales totaled 156,215 units, down 1.6% compared to 158,686 units sold in the second quarter 2010.
Compiled by the Motorcycle Industry Council, the figures represent sales over the six months ended June 30, 2011, from 19 reporting manufacturers: Aprilia, Arctic Cat, BMW, Buell, Can-Am, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Husaberg, Kawasaki, KTM, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Polaris, Suzuki, Triumph, Vespa, Victory and Yamaha.
